Metascore®Mixed or average reviewsbased on a weighted average of allcritic review scores.

50

out of 100

Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

I'm all for movies that create unease, but I prefer them to appear to know why they're doing that. Super is a film ending in narrative anarchy, exercising a destructive impulse to no greater purpose than to mess with us.

Parents need to know that Super is a 2010 dark satire starring Rainn Wilson as a pipe wrench-wielding vigilante superhero named the Crimson Bolt. Although this inventive-but-uneven dramedy is being marketed as an edgy superhero flick, it's much darker than you might expect. In fact, it's sometimes downright dreary. That, plus the violence -- including gouged cheeks and eyes, bludgeoned heads, a gun battle, explosions, an imagined rape, and more -- as well as swearing ("f--k," "s--t," and more), sexual scenes (some partial nudity), and drug content (one of the main characters is shown shooting up drugs) make this indie flick too intense for younger teens and tweens.

Families can talk about what makes someone a hero or a villain. Which category does Frank fall into? Why do you think he's compelled to fight crime -- and are his methods justifiable?

Is the violence gratuitous or necessary for the movie's tone and feel? How does it compare to that in other superhero movies?

The good stuff

Messages: Given that this is a dark satire on vigilantes attempting to be comic-book superheroes, there really isn't much in the way of positive messaging.

Role models: The main character, although somewhat well-intentioned, believes he can prevent evil by wearing a superhero costume and smashing bad guys -- everyone from drug dealers, child molesters, and people who cut in lines at movie theaters -- in the face with a pipe wrench. His sidekick -- a 22-year-old woman -- wears a superhero costume and howls with maniacal joy every time they maim or kill someone they believe to be a criminal.

What to watch for

Violence: Frequent violence throughout the movie. Early in the film, bullies are shown urinating on the head of a young boy. During a dream sequence, a man gets a poker stabbed in his neck; blood gushes out. Three bouncers are shown kicking and punching a man on the ground. Tentacles wielding razors slice open a man's head, pulling back his scalp to reveal his brain. Various criminals are hit in the head with a pipe wrench, causing bloody foreheads. In a dream sequence, the main character imagines himself being raped by other men in a prison. A detective is shot in the head by three bouncers. A woman dressed as a superhero slices a man to death with a makeshift claw. A man is burned alive. A woman's head is blown off by a gun. At the end of the movie, there's a mass shootout with many casualties. The lead criminal is shot in the crotch with a razor.

Sex: Early in the film, the photographer of a prom is shown having sex with the main character's prom date; her breasts are exposed. A woman tells a man that she wants to have sex with him and that she's "all gushy." She straddles the man and has sex with him, moaning and repeatedly saying she's going to "come"; there's no nudity during this scene.

Language: Frequent profanity: "f--k," motherf---er," "c--t," "d--k," "bitch." The "N" word is used at the end of the movie, as is the word "faggot."

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